Space

milky way galaxy during nighttime

The Earth from ET’s Perspective

To date, researchers have identified over 5,000 exoplanets in the Milky Way, a small fraction of the billions hypothesized to exist in our galaxy. Among them, researchers catalog so-called “Earth-like planets,” or planets with a similar size, structure, and distance from the Sun as Earth. While of great interest to modern astronomers, no conclusive evidence

Looking to the Future

As of 2020, the global consumption of energy is 580 million terajoules per year. Of this, 83.1% comes from fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, 4.3% comes from radioactive sources, and about 12.6% comes from renewable sources like hydro, solar, and wind. We have currently 50 more years of oil reserves left available,

Planet 9: Where no man has gone before, if it exists….

What do you mean “if Planet 9 exists?” We know it exists; Pluto is still within our solar system! Well yes, this is true. Though, as of 2006, Pluto was redefined as a dwarf planet instead of a planet, which is how we classify the Earth, Mars, and others within our solar system.   Speed Running

How private companies light up our night sky

In late 2019, astronomers across the U.S. began to notice mysterious streaks of light passing through their images—clusters of the private company SpaceX's Starlink satellites. With 955 of these satellites launched so far, founder Elon Musk aims to create a “mega-constellation” of satellites in the low Earth orbit (LEO), designed to provide global broadband Internet

Microbial mania on Mars

At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA is finalizing preparations to launch the Mars 2020 rover in July. One of the aims of the Mars 2020 mission is to search for signs of past microbial life through biosignatures. Biosignatures typically present themselves in traces of nitrogen, oxygen, or methane, indicating some active life form in either

Littering 2.0

Like many kids, I dreamt of becoming an astronaut; exploring distant planets and making contact with aliens. With a huge number of planets out there, it's hard to think we're all alone in this vast universe. But, as I grew as a scientist, my curiosity focused on a specific question: How can we find alien

Growing plants in space: not just an academic adventure

On December 15, 2017, Alexander “Al” Meyers waited patiently at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to hear the deafening roar of a Falcon 9 rocket signifying the start of the launch. Delayed over a month for technical issues, the successful launch of the SpaceX CRS-13 mission was essential for Al Meyers, as nestled inside were seeds that are potentially critical to the future of space exploration.

The EDGES Story: How Scientists Detected Effects of Light from the First Stars

In March 2018, a team of scientists led by Judd Bowman from Arizona State's School of Earth and Space Exploration and Alan Rogers from MIT's Haystack Observatory has done what many thought to be an impossible task. With a small radio antenna called EDGES (Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Recombination Signature) placed in

How Astronauts Celebrate the Holidays

They may not be home for Christmas, but the men and women orbiting hundreds of miles apart from the rest of humanity aren't letting that dampen their holiday spirit.

2017 Nobel Prize in Physics

On Tuesday, October 3rd the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, and Kip Thorne for their contributions to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). On February 11th, 2016, LIGO announced the first detection of gravitational waves, a monumental moment in science. Gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916,

From Molecular Profiling to Mars: Insights after a Year Orbiting Earth

Astronaut Scott Kelly's return to Earth on March 2, 2016, marked NASA's completion of its One-Year Mission. The study monitored Earth-bound and retired astronaut, Mark Kelly, as his identical twin brother, Scott, resided 249 miles above the ground in the International Space Station. Along with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, they orbited Earth for 340 days, 7 hours, and 44 minutes.

The Origins of Rocketry

Curious about how rockets get into the sky? Join Graham as he discusses the origins of rocket engines and the history behind the technology that is still in use today. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/289960354″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Sources: Robert Goddard, Goddard's Experiments, Scott Manley's Rocket Plumbing Image Credit: RS-25 engine test (for NASA’s New Rocket) By NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/qsyGca (No

Scroll to Top